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Burford


Burford is situated in north Oxfordshire, twenty miles north of Oxford, and  is considered the southern gateway to the Cotswolds. A beautiful old Cotswold  town, its High Street sloping from the high Wolds, where you have beautiful  views over the open countryside, down to the willow fringed River Windrush in  the pretty Windrush valley. A fine three arched medieval bridge crosses the  river at the foot of the hill.

To stand at the top of Burford High Street and look down at all the splendid  houses and pretty cottages is like looking at a town from a storybook. Some of  these old golden stone houses have seen the events of centuries, for some date  back to the 15th and 16th centuries and remain unaltered in appearance; the Bear  Inn and Crown Inn, the Old Bull Hotel and Bay Tree Hotel are all of this  period.

The Bull however, like several other properties in Burford was given a new  faade in Georgian times. Another example of this practice is The Great House in  Witney Street. The fine four gabled house by the river is from the 16th century,  built by Simon Wysdom. He left it to the Grammar School. Nearby are the old Almshouses,  which were rebuilt in 1823. The Priory was a famous Elizabethan house, rebuilt  in the early 1800's, which retains its Tudor gables and heraldic arms above the  doorway. The Priory was owned by William Lenthall, Speaker to the Long  Parliament and famous for defying Charles I.

Like other fine towns in the Cotswolds, Burford's wealth came from wool  during the 14th-17th centuries. The wool merchants held their meetings in the  'Tolsay', situated in the middle of the High Street. Today this quaint old  building houses an interesting little museum.

The Parish Church St. John the Baptist is one of the largest in Oxfordshire.  The Church still has its original west doorway and Norman tower, now capped with  a slender steeple of the 15th century; most of the present day building dates  from that period. The Church has a fine fan-vaulted ceiling and five medieval  screens dividing various chapels. There is an ornate tomb in the North Chapel to  Sir Lawrence Tanfield, Lord Chief Justice and the religiously divided Tanfield  family.

There is a footpath from the bridge leading westward, which takes you on a  pleasant quiet walk along the banks of the River Windrush, where you can  appreciate the beauty of rural Oxfordshire.

Local Information

  • Information Centre: The Old Brewery, Sheep St. OX18 4LP Tel: 01993 823558

  • Post Office: 83 High St. OX18 4QA Tel: 01993 822146

  • Fire, Police, Ambulance in an emergency dial 999

    • Police: Witney Tel: 01993 703913
    • Hospital:
      • John Radcliffe (Casualty Dept), Headley Way, Headington, Oxford Tel: 01865 741166

  • Travel:
    • Bus:Stagecoach and  Oxford Tube timetables and online ticket shop.
    • Airport: Oxford Airport, Kidlington Tel: 01865  841213

  • Local newspapers:

    • Oxford Times (Fri), Osney Mead, Oxford Tel: 01865 244988
    • Oxford Mail (Daily), Osney Mead, Oxford Tel: 01865 244988
    • The Star (Thu), Osney Mead, Oxford Tel: 01865  244988

  • Local Radio & TV:

    • Central Television, Unit 9, Windrush Court, Abingdon Tel: 01235 554123
    • FOX FM, Brush House, Pony Road, Oxford Tel: 01865 748787
    • BBC Radio Oxford 95.2 FM, 269 Banbury Road, Oxford Tel: 01865  311444

  • Local Council Offices:

    • West Oxfordshire District Council, Council Offices, Wood Green,  Witney. OX8 6NB Tel: 01993 702941
    • Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND Tel: 01865 792422


  • Worship
    • Burford Quakers, The  Religious Society of Friends, Pytts Lane, Burford. Meeting Sunday, 11am  with Children's Class Tel: 01993 702518

Recreation, Sport & Leisure

  • Golf:

    • Burford Golf Club, Swindon Road, Burford, Oxon, OX18 4JG Tel: 01993 822583

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